I hate to sound like a lousy, stinkin' whiner. Really. I do.
I've had a rash of scrapes and bumps on my car doors that is enough to test the patience and reasoning of any sane person. How freaking hard is it to move your shopping cart into one of the little collection bays? I normally park a bit further to the back of a lot, even if there are closer spots. I always think that there are people who have a lot more trouble getting around than myself and they need the spot - even if they're not officially 'handicapped'.
So how do I collect so many blemishes on my doors? I've seen carts left in the parking spots even when the cart corral was right there! I see people just sending the carts 'on their way' when done loading. It's different if you're a mom with little ones that you just strapped into their car seat and you have to walk a distance to the corral, but come on.
It only takes a few seconds and does so much for your fellow shoppers. My award for best cart management goes to the Howell (MI) Meijer's. A lot of corrals, and frequent collection by staff keep their lot quite orderly.
My award for worst is the Brighton (MI) Costco. Not a lot of corrals for starters. And their carts are HUGE. It really is a chore to walk a cart to a collection point in this lot. I always make sure to park wa-a-ay out if I visit this store. I try to keep my purchases to a minimum and use one of those great big Tractor Supply Company (TSC) re-usable shopping bags. They hold a lot more than the typical bag and are constructed to be a lot sturdier. That way I don't need to deal with a cart at this store.
And don't even get me started on drivers that don't know how to park inside the lines of the space. We'll save that for some other time.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Commercials & Infomercials
Lordy. I thought I had seen it all with the 'Amish Fireplace' (it's free! limit two per household!). If you watch the 40 minute version, as I did one sleepless early morning, there's a shot in the middle with an "authentic amish worker" that has an electric nail gun in his hand. Working on a fireplace mantle. Pretty funny. He's easy to spot. He's the young guy with what looks like a stick on beard.
I just saw a short commercial on IFC for the $50 buffalo nickel-style gold piece. Proper disclaimer about not being legal tender, it starts by saying that production was going to have to be stopped due to a lack of available coin blanks. Near the end comes the meat of the pitch. "Clad in the purest gold - 0.9999 pecent 24K gold". Wow, that's impressive. Next is a quick remark about 14 mg of gold used on the gold 'clad' coin. Hmm.
1 oz of gold = 28 grams. 14 mg is .014g of gold. That makes 14mg = 0.000493 oz of gold. The current gold price is $1,433/oz, so this 'limited edition collector's piece' actually has about 70 cents worth of gold in - or more accurately - on it. There could be some intrinsic value in the craftsmanship or the limited 'collectibility', but I'm pretty sure that won't equal the rest of the $49.30 in value.
I just saw a short commercial on IFC for the $50 buffalo nickel-style gold piece. Proper disclaimer about not being legal tender, it starts by saying that production was going to have to be stopped due to a lack of available coin blanks. Near the end comes the meat of the pitch. "Clad in the purest gold - 0.9999 pecent 24K gold". Wow, that's impressive. Next is a quick remark about 14 mg of gold used on the gold 'clad' coin. Hmm.
1 oz of gold = 28 grams. 14 mg is .014g of gold. That makes 14mg = 0.000493 oz of gold. The current gold price is $1,433/oz, so this 'limited edition collector's piece' actually has about 70 cents worth of gold in - or more accurately - on it. There could be some intrinsic value in the craftsmanship or the limited 'collectibility', but I'm pretty sure that won't equal the rest of the $49.30 in value.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Random Thoughts and Cabin Fever
It has certainly been a long winter. I keep saying that I love all four of Michigan's seasons (and I do!), but wow, almost a record snowfall for February (31" for the month) and a prolonged period of really cold weather had me a bit - "out of whack."
At least we're getting some sunshine and the promise of Spring. I keep looking for my little crocuses (croci?) and daffodils to confirm that Spring is here, but they're under too much snow at this time.
February was also a very busy month for me business-wise, and a busy month for other interests, so I didn't play much poker. For the first time, I didn't earn a small cash award for PokerSchoolOnline (PSO). I only played about a dozen tournaments, but I did have enough points to get a freeroll ticket for March. I had two or three really quick departures which cost me in the points department, so I guess I should be happy that I qualified for the freerolls this month.
I started March out horribly with my monthly live game. Been playing once a month with the same group of guys since March 2003. It's dealer's choice, no hold 'em, and we rotate bringing the food for the group. It's really more of a male bonding night than a real poker night. Stakes are ultra-low so nobody gets hurt badly, and it gives a chance to catch up with each other's lives and happenings.
Nobody leaves the hand and it's practically impossible to bluff at these stakes, too. So you're left with some basic calculations of probablility and outs and the rest is pure luck. Last night, not even switching decks helped. I had a few really good hands but the rest were pretty poor. A lot of Omaha hi-lo and seven card hi-lo games were dealt. So even when you win you're usually splitting the pot.
We were also playing short since one of the guys had to go on a 'date' with his wife (it was her birthday - what a wimp) and the other was driving back from Cleveland. Two others were just missing in action, but we had our reserve player make it to give us a table of five.
It's always a good time and this month I was most definitely a 'donator', but this game is really not about money. Even on a great winning night, nobody gets rich. Actually, we'd have trouble filling up an empty gas tank with our winnings at the current prices. But we always pull half of one ante out of the pot to donate to a local Children's Cancer fund.
I'm hoping that I will turn things around, but I've noticed that when I get really busy with other parts of my life I lose my poker concentration. That leaves me with the quandry of playing losing poker when 'life is good' or not playing at all. Hopefully I will work through that issue sometime and figure it all out. I have some free entry tickets for the Poker Stars SCOOP series, so I will definitely give those a whirl and try to progress in that tourney.
At least we're getting some sunshine and the promise of Spring. I keep looking for my little crocuses (croci?) and daffodils to confirm that Spring is here, but they're under too much snow at this time.
February was also a very busy month for me business-wise, and a busy month for other interests, so I didn't play much poker. For the first time, I didn't earn a small cash award for PokerSchoolOnline (PSO). I only played about a dozen tournaments, but I did have enough points to get a freeroll ticket for March. I had two or three really quick departures which cost me in the points department, so I guess I should be happy that I qualified for the freerolls this month.
I started March out horribly with my monthly live game. Been playing once a month with the same group of guys since March 2003. It's dealer's choice, no hold 'em, and we rotate bringing the food for the group. It's really more of a male bonding night than a real poker night. Stakes are ultra-low so nobody gets hurt badly, and it gives a chance to catch up with each other's lives and happenings.
Nobody leaves the hand and it's practically impossible to bluff at these stakes, too. So you're left with some basic calculations of probablility and outs and the rest is pure luck. Last night, not even switching decks helped. I had a few really good hands but the rest were pretty poor. A lot of Omaha hi-lo and seven card hi-lo games were dealt. So even when you win you're usually splitting the pot.
We were also playing short since one of the guys had to go on a 'date' with his wife (it was her birthday - what a wimp) and the other was driving back from Cleveland. Two others were just missing in action, but we had our reserve player make it to give us a table of five.
It's always a good time and this month I was most definitely a 'donator', but this game is really not about money. Even on a great winning night, nobody gets rich. Actually, we'd have trouble filling up an empty gas tank with our winnings at the current prices. But we always pull half of one ante out of the pot to donate to a local Children's Cancer fund.
I'm hoping that I will turn things around, but I've noticed that when I get really busy with other parts of my life I lose my poker concentration. That leaves me with the quandry of playing losing poker when 'life is good' or not playing at all. Hopefully I will work through that issue sometime and figure it all out. I have some free entry tickets for the Poker Stars SCOOP series, so I will definitely give those a whirl and try to progress in that tourney.
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